Books and Ideas (03)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
A Collection of Essays. George Orwell.
In one of his most famous essays, Orwell rails against the misuse of the English language. Pointing out these mistakes is useful, but he makes the same mistakes in his own writing—and admits it. In another essay, “Shooting an Elephant,” he learns that the conquering British Empire is at the mercy of the people it has conquered.
A Country Doctor. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. Nan decides to become a doctor instead of marrying for which she is severely criticized by friends and relatives, but not by her father, a doctor. In Jewett’s day, Nan could not do both.
The Country of the Pointed Firs. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. A series of stories about the people of the rural seacoast of Maine, whose lives are both rich and lonely. After reading this novel, I learned why rural people are in the habit of just “dropping in” unannounced.
Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. Howard Gardner.
Distinguishes between creative thinking which is diverse and convergent thinking that looks only for right answers.
Criticism: The Major Texts. Walter Jackson Bate, ed.
This book is a textbook that contains the original statements on literary and artistic criticism from Plato to Edmund Wilson.
Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Pope John Paul II.
The Pope confronts the most persistent questions about religion. Example: Why does God permit suffering?
The Da Vinci Code: A Novel. Dan Brown.
Novel. Contains all the ingredients of a best-seller, but one of its ideas makes serious assertions about Jesus Christ.
Day One: Before Hiroshima and After. Peter Wyden.
Account of the problems in communication that occurred on America’s way to developing the atomic bomb. Disturbing retelling of the sufferings of the Japanese people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Balanced account of the reasons for dropping the atomic bomb—the fanatical defense of the homeland by the Japanese military that would have cost at least 500,000 American lives.
Bonfire of the Vanities. Tom Wolfe.
Novel. Goal of the American Justice System: Don’t do what’s right; do what is going to make you look good in the media. Affluent lawyer winds up on the other side of the law, although he has not caused the death of a black teenager who was attempting to rob him. Innocence is proved guilty.
Decline and Fall. Evelyn Waugh.
A wacky novel with wacky characters. Send-up of public schools and prisons in England.
Deephaven. Sarah Orne Jewett.
Novel. Two young women spend an idyllic summer vacation in Deephaven, once a thriving Maine seaport town. Will remind readers of their own idyllic summer vacations.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Books and Ideas (2)
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America. Thurston Clarke.
Explains the methods used by JFK and Ted Sorenson in preparing JFK’s speeches, particularly the inauguration speech. The inauguration itself was a study of political backbiting.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain. Ed. Charles Neider.
Twain’s autobiography reflects his cynicism and, in the end, his preoccupation with death, “the deliverer.”
Babbitt. Sinclair Lewis.
Satirical novel about the American middle class. George Babbitt is unimaginative, self-important, and longing for something beyond conformity.
The Best and the Brightest. David Halberstam.
Contrast between the Kennedy and LBJ styles of leadership, which led to the escalation of the war in Vietnam by LBJ.
The Best Nature Writing of Joseph Wood Krutch.
Writes about nature to spread the joy of living. One of a number of writers on nature who believes that humanity is an equal partner in nature, rather than its dominator.
Bill Campbell: The Voice of Philadelphia Sports. Sam Carchidi.
Bill Campbell was as much a part of Philadelphia sports as booing.
The Blithedale Romance. Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Novel/Romance. Hawthorne was a feminist before his time. The intellectual woman is no match for the sweet, clinging, dependent and worshipful pretty girl whom men seek as their companions.
Booknotes: America’s Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas. Brian Lamb, ed.
How do writers write? Fascinating view of the writing process. On one thing most of these writers agree: it takes years to write books.
The Book on the Bookshelf. Henry Petroski.
The author describes the growing problem through the centuries of finding enough shelf space for books.
The Brothers Karamazov. Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Novel. Who killed Fyodor Karamazov? All of his sons in one way or another. A very philosophical novel on good and evil, sons’ hatred for their fathers and people’s hatred of authority.
Catch-22. Joseph Heller.
Novel. A man would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t but if he was sane, he had to fly them. A “catch-22” is a diabolical dilemma. Some funny scenes and language.
Building of Christendom. Warren H. Carroll.
The cruelty of Christians to other Christians and Jews. Vividly told. The brutal conquests of Christian countries by Muslims. One reader said that if history had been written like this when he was in high school, he would have loved reading history. He was referring to how history is written, not the bloody and cruel nature of the events.
Civilization: A Personal View. Kenneth Clark.
History of Western civilization. A personal study of the nature of civilization, which needs confidence to construct and is easily destroyed.
The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America. Thurston Clarke.
Explains the methods used by JFK and Ted Sorenson in preparing JFK’s speeches, particularly the inauguration speech. The inauguration itself was a study of political backbiting.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain. Ed. Charles Neider.
Twain’s autobiography reflects his cynicism and, in the end, his preoccupation with death, “the deliverer.”
Babbitt. Sinclair Lewis.
Satirical novel about the American middle class. George Babbitt is unimaginative, self-important, and longing for something beyond conformity.
The Best and the Brightest. David Halberstam.
Contrast between the Kennedy and LBJ styles of leadership, which led to the escalation of the war in Vietnam by LBJ.
The Best Nature Writing of Joseph Wood Krutch.
Writes about nature to spread the joy of living. One of a number of writers on nature who believes that humanity is an equal partner in nature, rather than its dominator.
Bill Campbell: The Voice of Philadelphia Sports. Sam Carchidi.
Bill Campbell was as much a part of Philadelphia sports as booing.
The Blithedale Romance. Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Novel/Romance. Hawthorne was a feminist before his time. The intellectual woman is no match for the sweet, clinging, dependent and worshipful pretty girl whom men seek as their companions.
Booknotes: America’s Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas. Brian Lamb, ed.
How do writers write? Fascinating view of the writing process. On one thing most of these writers agree: it takes years to write books.
The Book on the Bookshelf. Henry Petroski.
The author describes the growing problem through the centuries of finding enough shelf space for books.
The Brothers Karamazov. Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Novel. Who killed Fyodor Karamazov? All of his sons in one way or another. A very philosophical novel on good and evil, sons’ hatred for their fathers and people’s hatred of authority.
Catch-22. Joseph Heller.
Novel. A man would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t but if he was sane, he had to fly them. A “catch-22” is a diabolical dilemma. Some funny scenes and language.
Building of Christendom. Warren H. Carroll.
The cruelty of Christians to other Christians and Jews. Vividly told. The brutal conquests of Christian countries by Muslims. One reader said that if history had been written like this when he was in high school, he would have loved reading history. He was referring to how history is written, not the bloody and cruel nature of the events.
Civilization: A Personal View. Kenneth Clark.
History of Western civilization. A personal study of the nature of civilization, which needs confidence to construct and is easily destroyed.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Books and Ideas (1)
Books and Ideas
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
Abraham Lincoln: Prairie Years. Carl Sandburg.
Abraham Lincoln grows up. Many anecdotes. Vivid re-creation of his times, personality, and sense of humor.
Abraham Lincoln: War Years. Carl Sandburg.
Abraham Lincoln was the real commander of the Union forces and Robert E. Lee underestimated him.
Act One. Moss Hart.
A playwright tells how he learned to write successful plays.
Adirondack Country. William C. White.
History of the Adirondacks: the mountain peaks, the lakes, the guides, the natives and the tourists.
Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain.
Novel. A combination of hilarious scenes and a deep, deep understanding of the tragedy of slavery. A study in conscience.
All the King’s Men. Robert Penn Warren.
Novel. The complexity of a politician’s motivation: does he perform good acts for the sake of doing good or does he do good for political profit?
All Too Human: A Political Education. George Stephanopoulos.
Behind-the-scenes view of Bill Clinton’s Presidency. He was a “good president who should have been a better man.”
American Humor: A Study of the American Character. Constance Rourke.
Two types of American humor: the Yankee and the backwoodsman.
The American Presidency. Clinton Rossiter.
Thoughtful view of the powers and limitations of the American Presidency.
The Americans: The Colonial Experience. Daniel J. Boorstin.
The seeds of American culture were sown in the Colonial period.
The American Seasons. Edwin Way Teal.
Traveled through the seasons across America.
Anthem. Ayn Rand.
Novel. An antidote to the culture of melding the individual into the group.
The Art of Teaching. Gilbert Highet.
There is more to teaching than simply standing up in front of a classroom and telling students what to do.
As I Lay Dying. William Faulkner.
Novel. Faulkner uses words to help the reader visualize the character, mood and even the weather in the South after the Civil War. A disastrous funeral trip that is, in the end, hilarious.
I read for ideas. What follows is my attempt to summarize the main ideas of books I have read.
Abraham Lincoln: Prairie Years. Carl Sandburg.
Abraham Lincoln grows up. Many anecdotes. Vivid re-creation of his times, personality, and sense of humor.
Abraham Lincoln: War Years. Carl Sandburg.
Abraham Lincoln was the real commander of the Union forces and Robert E. Lee underestimated him.
Act One. Moss Hart.
A playwright tells how he learned to write successful plays.
Adirondack Country. William C. White.
History of the Adirondacks: the mountain peaks, the lakes, the guides, the natives and the tourists.
Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain.
Novel. A combination of hilarious scenes and a deep, deep understanding of the tragedy of slavery. A study in conscience.
All the King’s Men. Robert Penn Warren.
Novel. The complexity of a politician’s motivation: does he perform good acts for the sake of doing good or does he do good for political profit?
All Too Human: A Political Education. George Stephanopoulos.
Behind-the-scenes view of Bill Clinton’s Presidency. He was a “good president who should have been a better man.”
American Humor: A Study of the American Character. Constance Rourke.
Two types of American humor: the Yankee and the backwoodsman.
The American Presidency. Clinton Rossiter.
Thoughtful view of the powers and limitations of the American Presidency.
The Americans: The Colonial Experience. Daniel J. Boorstin.
The seeds of American culture were sown in the Colonial period.
The American Seasons. Edwin Way Teal.
Traveled through the seasons across America.
Anthem. Ayn Rand.
Novel. An antidote to the culture of melding the individual into the group.
The Art of Teaching. Gilbert Highet.
There is more to teaching than simply standing up in front of a classroom and telling students what to do.
As I Lay Dying. William Faulkner.
Novel. Faulkner uses words to help the reader visualize the character, mood and even the weather in the South after the Civil War. A disastrous funeral trip that is, in the end, hilarious.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Why Read Books?
In recent years, more and more people have confessed to me that they do not know why they read. Probably the reason is that films and TV shows have provided stories and entertainment that books used to supply. With entertainment available in other mediums, people have no need for it in books. Besides entertainment, the only other purpose for reading books is information which, frankly, inundates the Internet. So, why read books?
Ideas.
When I read Day One, the story of the atomic bomb, I was amazed at the mistakes, mishaps, and misjudgments that went into the making of a scientific marvel; the disagreements over the target and the reasons that one target was chosen over another illustrate how human decisions can change the map of human destiny. The book also tells about the vivid effects of the bomb. And hubris brought down General Grove and Dr. Oppenheimer when they thought they were invincible because of what they had achieved as leaders of the Manhattan Project. They weren’t. These experiences reinforced my belief that everything human is political.
I was chagrined at the irony of war in Wings of Morning, the story of the last American bomber shot down over Germany at the end of WWII. The plane was not scheduled to fly a mission; the weather should have caused the flight to be turned back; the position of the plane in the formation was not its normal position; the target, Regensburg, should not have been on the flight path and it was the only plane hit by flack in spite of the fact that it was surrounded by other planes. The result was the needless loss of young lives and a crushing loss to their loved ones. The irony of war has never been more clearly illustrated.
Bonfire of the Vanities was a novel of the injustice of the American justice system, played out in real life in Duke University’s witch hunt by a demagogic attorney general. The essential workings of the injustice in the novel were shockingly like the real-life story of the Duke University athletes. The district attorney, the lawyers and the media conspired to convict the innocent.
John Kennedy said that he never saw his father read a serious book. My own father told me that after he graduated from law school he said he would never read another book and he never did.
I think people are overwhelmed by books. Reading books was required in school and it was a chore. The book dominates the person; people do not use books for their own purposes. My goal in this portion of English in Plain English is to show people how to use books to find ideas of interest to them.
Many people feel that reading books is boring. They are overwhelmed by long books and they inevitably lose interest. Someone once said that it’s not the book that is boring; it’s the reader. The trouble with readers who think books are boring is that they begin with the first word in the first sentence on page one and read every word and every sentence from the first page to the last page. They feel it is their duty to put the same effort into reading that writers put into writing their books. However, I have learned that Francis Bacon was right when he said in 1625, “…some books are to be read only in parts; … and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”
People will take the time to read books if they can immerse themselves in them. How can they immerse themselves in books? Maintaining interest in reading books is what this section of English in Plain English is about. Reading is not a passive activity. The key to maintaining interest in reading books is reading actively and the key to reading actively is previewing.
Warning: The ideas on reading in the preceding pages of my blog on Teaching English, How To.... are unorthodox. Several people have told me that I read “crazy.” I have learned how to immerse myself in books. I read for ideas. And you never can tell where ideas will take you.
My methods could turn you into the reader you want to be.
Re-read the previous descriptions of how to preview and how to read actively by interacting (annotating) articles, chapters, nonfiction books, novels and short stories.
In my next blogs I will give examples of ideas I have gained from books. RayS.
Ideas.
When I read Day One, the story of the atomic bomb, I was amazed at the mistakes, mishaps, and misjudgments that went into the making of a scientific marvel; the disagreements over the target and the reasons that one target was chosen over another illustrate how human decisions can change the map of human destiny. The book also tells about the vivid effects of the bomb. And hubris brought down General Grove and Dr. Oppenheimer when they thought they were invincible because of what they had achieved as leaders of the Manhattan Project. They weren’t. These experiences reinforced my belief that everything human is political.
I was chagrined at the irony of war in Wings of Morning, the story of the last American bomber shot down over Germany at the end of WWII. The plane was not scheduled to fly a mission; the weather should have caused the flight to be turned back; the position of the plane in the formation was not its normal position; the target, Regensburg, should not have been on the flight path and it was the only plane hit by flack in spite of the fact that it was surrounded by other planes. The result was the needless loss of young lives and a crushing loss to their loved ones. The irony of war has never been more clearly illustrated.
Bonfire of the Vanities was a novel of the injustice of the American justice system, played out in real life in Duke University’s witch hunt by a demagogic attorney general. The essential workings of the injustice in the novel were shockingly like the real-life story of the Duke University athletes. The district attorney, the lawyers and the media conspired to convict the innocent.
John Kennedy said that he never saw his father read a serious book. My own father told me that after he graduated from law school he said he would never read another book and he never did.
I think people are overwhelmed by books. Reading books was required in school and it was a chore. The book dominates the person; people do not use books for their own purposes. My goal in this portion of English in Plain English is to show people how to use books to find ideas of interest to them.
Many people feel that reading books is boring. They are overwhelmed by long books and they inevitably lose interest. Someone once said that it’s not the book that is boring; it’s the reader. The trouble with readers who think books are boring is that they begin with the first word in the first sentence on page one and read every word and every sentence from the first page to the last page. They feel it is their duty to put the same effort into reading that writers put into writing their books. However, I have learned that Francis Bacon was right when he said in 1625, “…some books are to be read only in parts; … and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”
People will take the time to read books if they can immerse themselves in them. How can they immerse themselves in books? Maintaining interest in reading books is what this section of English in Plain English is about. Reading is not a passive activity. The key to maintaining interest in reading books is reading actively and the key to reading actively is previewing.
Warning: The ideas on reading in the preceding pages of my blog on Teaching English, How To.... are unorthodox. Several people have told me that I read “crazy.” I have learned how to immerse myself in books. I read for ideas. And you never can tell where ideas will take you.
My methods could turn you into the reader you want to be.
Re-read the previous descriptions of how to preview and how to read actively by interacting (annotating) articles, chapters, nonfiction books, novels and short stories.
In my next blogs I will give examples of ideas I have gained from books. RayS.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Savvy Readers
Reading
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.” Francis Bacon, “Of Studies,” 1625.
Savvy Readers
Savvy readers know a few facts about reading:
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.” Francis Bacon, “Of Studies,” 1625.
Savvy Readers
Savvy readers know a few facts about reading:
Exposition is the type of writing that explains.
Most nonfiction is exposition.
Most exposition or nonfiction is organized as follows: “Tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them.”
Savvy readers know that the first and last paragraphs of articles and chapters in nonfiction are significant. The first paragraph(s) almost always introduce the main idea of the article or chapter. The last paragraph(s) almost always summarize it.
Savvy readers know that middle paragraphs in exposition or nonfiction usually begin with topic sentences that are developed in the body of the paragraph or paragraphs that follow.
Savvy readers know that first and last paragraphs and topic sentences save time in gaining ideas when they read exposition or nonfiction.
Savvy readers know how to recapture their interest in novels when they are about to give up on the book.
Savvy readers know how to immerse themselves in nonfiction, novels, short stories and journal or magazine articles.
Savvy readers read books for ideas.
People who say that they never or rarely read books have not learned how to be savvy readers.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Active Reading: Annotating What You Read
Question: Why should I write in books? How can I write in books when it’s somebody else’s book or the library’s?
Answer: Annotating is a good way to summarize ideas briefly. When you can’t write in the book, try a “sticky.”
Summarize but No Comments
I like to write in books. But years of doing it have taught me some things. First, when I annotate, I do not comment. I find that my comments grow stale and besides they’re too long. Later, when I take up the book again, I don’t feel like reading them. Comments are soon out of date.
I annotate by paraphrasing or summarizing briefly the interesting ideas I meet in books or periodicals. Those paraphrases and summaries, especially if they are brief, remind me quickly of the ideas I have encountered. I never grow tired of ideas in the book or periodical, but I quickly tire of my comments.
Underlining
By the way, I also underline. When I have finished the book, I go back to select from my underlinings what I call the “significant sentences” to use as quotes when I write or speak. I try to keep those quotes as brief as possible, a sentence or two at most. No one likes to read long quotes.
Somebody Else’s Book
When the book is a loaner from a friend or a library, I use a system I found in a professional article, long since lost, that enables me to keep track of ideas or quotes without writing in the book.
Mentally, divide the page into five sections, A, B, C, D and E from top to bottom. When you find an idea you want to record, put a sticky on the page with the page number and the section of the page where you found the quote or idea, A at the top, C in the middle and E at the end with B somewhere between the top (A) and the Middle (C) or (D) between the middle (C) and (E), the end: (page) 135 A or (page) 271 E. If the book or periodical is in columns, attach “1” for column 1 or “2” for column 2: (page) 35 1A or 2D.
You can easily go back to locate the idea and can record it in your notebook or on your computer.
There are those who think it is a crime to write in books. Today, “interactive” is a buzz word that shows people are actively involved in media. Annotating is a way of interacting with books or periodicals. The only crime against writing in books is if the books are someone else’s. But then you can use a “sticky.” Annotations help to keep ideas fresh in your mind when you take up the book or periodical again at a later time.
Answer: Annotating is a good way to summarize ideas briefly. When you can’t write in the book, try a “sticky.”
Summarize but No Comments
I like to write in books. But years of doing it have taught me some things. First, when I annotate, I do not comment. I find that my comments grow stale and besides they’re too long. Later, when I take up the book again, I don’t feel like reading them. Comments are soon out of date.
I annotate by paraphrasing or summarizing briefly the interesting ideas I meet in books or periodicals. Those paraphrases and summaries, especially if they are brief, remind me quickly of the ideas I have encountered. I never grow tired of ideas in the book or periodical, but I quickly tire of my comments.
Underlining
By the way, I also underline. When I have finished the book, I go back to select from my underlinings what I call the “significant sentences” to use as quotes when I write or speak. I try to keep those quotes as brief as possible, a sentence or two at most. No one likes to read long quotes.
Somebody Else’s Book
When the book is a loaner from a friend or a library, I use a system I found in a professional article, long since lost, that enables me to keep track of ideas or quotes without writing in the book.
Mentally, divide the page into five sections, A, B, C, D and E from top to bottom. When you find an idea you want to record, put a sticky on the page with the page number and the section of the page where you found the quote or idea, A at the top, C in the middle and E at the end with B somewhere between the top (A) and the Middle (C) or (D) between the middle (C) and (E), the end: (page) 135 A or (page) 271 E. If the book or periodical is in columns, attach “1” for column 1 or “2” for column 2: (page) 35 1A or 2D.
You can easily go back to locate the idea and can record it in your notebook or on your computer.
There are those who think it is a crime to write in books. Today, “interactive” is a buzz word that shows people are actively involved in media. Annotating is a way of interacting with books or periodicals. The only crime against writing in books is if the books are someone else’s. But then you can use a “sticky.” Annotations help to keep ideas fresh in your mind when you take up the book or periodical again at a later time.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Active Reading: Magazines and Professional Journals
Question: Any way to cut to the essential ideas of articles in professional journals and magazines?
Answer: A two-step preview
In reading professional journals and magazines, you want to find the important ideas quickly. Here’s how.
1. First and Last Paragraph
Read the first and last paragraph of the first article. If you have learned all that you need from the first and last paragraphs, simply jot a very brief summary and move on to the next article. You need to jot down that summary or you will find that later, when you pick up the journal or magazine, you will have forgotten what the article was about.
2. First Sentence of Each Intermediate Paragraph
If, after reading the first and last paragraph of the article, you have questions, go back and read the first sentence of each paragraph. Answered your questions? Know the main idea and details? Know enough? Go on to the next article.
Important Ideas in Little Time
My experience has been that for most articles in journals and magazines, reading the first and last paragraphs of the articles is usually enough to tell me what I want to know. With three or maybe four articles in a journal or magazine, I need to read the first sentence of each paragraph to find important details to answer my questions.
Only VERY RARELY is the article good enough that I have to read the entire article—at the most, one article a journal or magazine, but often none. When the article requires a complete reading, I never resent it. I want to know all that the author can tell me. Articles that require me to read everything are very special.
Reading for Ideas
This way of reading is what I call reading for ideas. And you can gain twenty to thirty ideas in just one fifteen-minute session with professional journals and magazines by reading the first and last paragraph and, occasionally, the first sentence in each intermediate paragraph. Remember to summarize briefly the article and the ideas that are important to you or you will forget what the article is about later when you pick it up again.
Answer: A two-step preview
In reading professional journals and magazines, you want to find the important ideas quickly. Here’s how.
1. First and Last Paragraph
Read the first and last paragraph of the first article. If you have learned all that you need from the first and last paragraphs, simply jot a very brief summary and move on to the next article. You need to jot down that summary or you will find that later, when you pick up the journal or magazine, you will have forgotten what the article was about.
2. First Sentence of Each Intermediate Paragraph
If, after reading the first and last paragraph of the article, you have questions, go back and read the first sentence of each paragraph. Answered your questions? Know the main idea and details? Know enough? Go on to the next article.
Important Ideas in Little Time
My experience has been that for most articles in journals and magazines, reading the first and last paragraphs of the articles is usually enough to tell me what I want to know. With three or maybe four articles in a journal or magazine, I need to read the first sentence of each paragraph to find important details to answer my questions.
Only VERY RARELY is the article good enough that I have to read the entire article—at the most, one article a journal or magazine, but often none. When the article requires a complete reading, I never resent it. I want to know all that the author can tell me. Articles that require me to read everything are very special.
Reading for Ideas
This way of reading is what I call reading for ideas. And you can gain twenty to thirty ideas in just one fifteen-minute session with professional journals and magazines by reading the first and last paragraph and, occasionally, the first sentence in each intermediate paragraph. Remember to summarize briefly the article and the ideas that are important to you or you will forget what the article is about later when you pick it up again.
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